Circular-knitting machine.



H. A. HOUSEMAN. CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE. APPLIoATIoN FILED 00T.29, 1912.'

1,078,6'?9, Y Patented Nov. 18,1913A 64 4 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

lllmll H. A. HOUSEMAN." CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE. APPLIOATION FILED 00T.z9. 1912.

1,078,679 Patented Nov. 18, 1913.

4 SHEETS-SHBET 2.

K W/T/Vsssss.-

H. A. HOUSEMAN. CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE. APPLroAqfxoN FILED omnia, 1912.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

'7c' /6 /7 I I 'Mmm/raf? Harry #baseman PatentedLNov. 18, 1.913,

H. A. HDUSEM'AN. CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE. APPLIQATION FILED 00T.29, 1912.

1,0?8,679. Patented Nov.1s,1913;

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

, UNITED STATES PATENT OFEICE.

HARRY A. HUSEMAN, 0F PHILADELPHlvA., PENNSYLVANI, ASSIGNOR T0 STANDARD 'MACHINE COMPANY, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, A COBPOBATIQN 0F PnNNsYLvaNm.

original application md my 12,1912,

Specification of Letters Patent.

Serial lo. 697,861. Divided and this application med October 4.28, 1912. Serial lo. 728,364. J

crneonanfxmrrrne Meermin.

' Patented Nov.1s,1a 13.

To all whom t may concern.'

lBe .it known .that LHaimr A. House-MAN,

a citizen of the United States, residing at' Pl'rilndelphia, county of Philadelphia, and

State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new:-

being had to the accompanying drawings,- 1.-"10

which form a part of this speciicaon v This application is a division of an appli cation filed -fbylme May 17, 1912, Serial No. 697,661. The object of the invention forming the 'suheot-matter of this application Ais to provide `means 4more particularly adapted for v themanufaure of half hose. In the ,manu` facture of suoli hose by means of a machine. of the character set forth 'm my said appll- 1 cation Serial No. "697,86'1,the leg, heel, foot and toe aresuccessirfely knitted. After the'` toe is completed, a lmunber of round and round courses are knit, themachine is thenstopped, the yarn is broken, the stocking is pressed of -the needles by turning the machine about two revolutions, and the rear bank of needles-is moved out olf action pre# paratory to 'leveling all the needles y.for thel transferring operation. Alter the trans-fer-- ring operation, the machine is again turned to ybring the cams into operative relation with certain needles ofthe front bank, and the rear bank of lneed-.les is moved int-o opera-tive position, and then follows the -knitting of the leg, the heel, the foot' and the toe of another stocking.

` The object of the presentinvention is to provide means whereby the 'foregoing operations may be effected. In my said application Seri'al No. 697,861, such means are fully set forth, as Well as other means adapted to the manufacture of ladies hose.

In the present application, I have illusdraft-ed, and shall hereinafter describe, only such portion of the machinsm set forth in said application Serial No. 697,861 as is employed in the manufacture of half-hose.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a front elevation of the machine; Fig Q is a sectional plan on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a side View looking-toward the left of Fig.v l;

Fig. 4 is a detail side View of one of the mafimpattern vrat-chets and part ofthe mechtion and viceversa; Fig. 5 is 'a section on lsinkers or web-holders Z.

theline 5 5 of Fig. 2; Figo is a partial side view looking from the right of Fig. 1; Fig. 7 is a section on the line 7-7 of Fig. 1 showing the beltehifting mechanism; 8 is a plan view of the means for vertically moving land leveling the needle cylinder;

Fig. 9 is a `partial sectional elevation of the means shown in 8;'Figz 10 isla rear eleration of the machine, partly broken away; .F ig. 11 is an enlarged sectional View of portion of knitting head.

a is the frame of the machine and b: the upper vbed plate. Projecting upward :from the bed .plate b is a spider c on which rests the non-rotatable needle cylinder d. rIhe needle cylinder d has slots e extending from the, inner periphery outluard. These slots contain the needles f which are operated from needle levers g pivoted on the comb h. The comb h rests on the bed plate b. The rotatable cam cylinder 27 is located within the needle cylinder d. Resting on the ncedle, cylinder d is the sinker head haring the cap j having cams adapted to actuate the The above described construction is the same as that shown in Patent ;o. 903,190 issued to me No'vem'ber 10, 1908.

.As is well understood, during the knitting of the leg of the stocking and during the knitting of that partof the stocking between the heel and toc (which I shall call the foot) the cam cylinder is continuously rotating and all the needles are in action and in the position shown in F ig. 11. During the knitting of the heel and toe, the cam cylinder Vis oscillated and' the needles extendingl throughout one-half the circumference of the needle bed (hereinafter referred to as the Vrear bank of needles) ,are initially thrown out of action, which is eected by moving down a half-ring m engaging the ltails of theneedle levers corresponding to said needles, whereby said needles are swung outward and out of operative engagement with the knitting cams. During the oscillation lof the cam cylinder, the needles extcnding throughout the remaining semi-circumference of the needle bed (that is, the front bank of needles) are thrown out of action one at a' time, first at one `end of the semicircumference and then at the other end,- and so on alternately until a limited number of" needles in the central part of the semi-cir cumference are in action; the needles are then thrown into action one at a time in approximately the reverse order in which they are thrown out. This operation is effected, in a manner known in the art, by means of two fashioning rack-plateso actuated by two double pawls p carried by two arms :i projecting from an oscillating ring r.

The shaft of the cam cylinder c' from rotation to reciprocation, the depression of the half-ring m for throwing half the needles out of operative connectionwith the lrnitting cams, vand the imparting of osciilating motion to the ring r, for throwing certain of the remaining needles, one at a time, into and'out of operative connection with the knitting cams, are effected at the same time by means to be hereinafter described.

It' will be understood that the cam cy1inder i and sinker cap j are rotated and oscillated together. The cam cylinder at its lower part has on its outer face a gear 11 engaging the outer gear 13 of a ringv 12. The ring 12 carries also an inner gear 111 whichengages a pinion 15 on the shaft 16. The shaft 16 also carries a pinion 17 which engages a gear 18 on the sinker head 7c. The ring 12 is the driving element of the chain of gearing described. As shown, the ratio between gears vlland 13 is one to one, between pinion 15 and gear 1a' one to two, and between gear 17 and gear 18 one t0 two, and the cam cylinder and sinlrer head therefore have imparted to them precisely similar movements, as if they were rigidly secured together.

The ring 12, from which both the cam cylinder z' and the sinlrer cap y' derive their movements as described, is driven from the clutch shaft 2O in any convenient way, as, for example, by the slip clutch arrangement shown and described in my said application Serial No. 697,861.

On the clutch shaft 2O are slidably mounted the two pinions 21 and 22, which have sleeves to which are yoked the vertically movable arms 2li, 2li, which are moved up or down 1n unison as hereinafter described.

The clutch 23 is fixed on the shaft'20., loetween pinions 21 and 22. The upper pinion 21 is constantly rotated and the lower pinion 22 constantly oscillated. When the arms 24 are moved down, thus engaging the rotary inion 21 with the clutch 28 and disengaging the oscillatory pinion 22, the ring 12 is continuously rotated, thus rotating the cam cylinder' z' and sinker cap y'. When the arms 24 are elevated, thus disengagng the rotar' pinion 21 from the clutch 23 and engaging/thc oscillatory pinion 22, the 'ring 12 is Aconstantly oscillated, thus oscillating the cam cylinder z' and sinker cap j.

The pinion 21 is constantly rotated by means of a spur gear 25 meshing with the act/'sers pinion 21. The shaft 26 of the spur gear 25 also carries a bevel gear 27 driven from a bevel pinion 28 on the driving shaft t.

The pinion 22 is constantly oscillated by the following means: On the shaft 26 is a crank 29 connected by a iink 30 with an arm 31 turning on a post 32. Extending from the hub of the arm 31 is a quadrant 33 engaging the pinion 22. i

The mechanism for vertically moving the arms 24, and thereby changing from' rotation to oscillation, and vice versa, will now be described. These arms are secured to a post 60 (see Figs. 2, 4 andati). rlhe post 60 has a pair of collars 61 lbetween 4which eX- tend the forked ends of a lever 62 pivoted between its ends on the frame of the machine. The lever is actuated by means of a double vcam 63, 64e secured to a sleeve 67 on the shaft 69 (see Figs. 4 and 10). These cams rotate together and may be integral one with another. Each cam has a high part and a low part. The high part of cam 63 is adapted to coact withv an arm 65 on the lever 62. The high part of cam 64 is adapted to coact with an arm 6 6 on the lever 62. When the high part of cam 63 eoacts with the arm 65, the post-engaging end of the lever 62 is moved and held down, thereby moving downv the post 60, the arms '24 and the pinions 21 and..]22, thereby clutching pinion 21 with the clutch 23 and dictating the rotation of the'cam cylinder z' and sinker cap j. When the high part of cam 64 coacts with the arm 66, thepost engaging end of the lever is moved and held up, thereby dictating the oscillation of the cam cylinder z' and sinker cap part of each cam 63 and 64 corresponds with the length yof the low part of the other cam,

The length of the highl and the arrangement is such that wheny the higjh part of one cam starts to ride under its corresponding lever arm, the high part of the other cam starts to recede from its corresponding lever arm. Thus the lever 62 is always in positive engagement with one cam or the other.

The double cam 63, 6ft, is caused to turn by means of a pattern ratchet wheel 68, also secured'to the sleeve 67, which ratchet wheel is turned initially by first turning the sleeve 67 and then by means of a pawl 70.

The following means are provided for initially turning the sleeve 67: u is the pattern chain, the same extending around sprocket wheels 71 and 72, the foi-nier being driven by incaus to be hereinafter described. Just The cam Shaft 77 is geared to the sleeve G7 means of the interineshing pinions 78 and 7 9, and thereby the sleeve 67, together with the double cam 63, 64 andl the ratchet wheel 68, are turned. The pawl as .constantly reciprocated, by means to be hereinafter de-` scribed. By reference to Fig. 4 it `will be noticed that the ratchet Wheel 6.8 has a number of teeth (seven are shown) offwhich one, 80, is substantially longer than the others. During oscillation of the cam cylinder, the pan-170 plays upon the long tooth, its extent of movement being insulliclent to cause itl to drop back of the same. Consequently, it is inoperative to turn the ratchet wheel 68. But- -after' the ratchet wheel 68 has been turned by the pattern chain, through the mechanism just described, the long tooth lis advanced to such position that on thenext reciproeation of the pawl 70 it drops `hack of the long tooth and proceeds to turn the ratchet-wheel, together with the double cani 63, 64. f YAs .the

pawl .70 engages and pushes the se'ond too h of the ratchet 68, the high part ,of cam 63 recedes from the lever arm-65 and the high part of cam 6 4 engages lever arm 66, thereby lifting the post-engaging end of lever 62, clutching the lower or oscillatory pinion 2 2 to the clutch shaft 20 and unelutching the rotary pinion 21, and causing the cam cylinder i and sinker cap j to oscillate. i 1

The constant reciprocation of the pawl 70 iselected by securing to the hub of lever 31 a section of a bevel pinion 81 which drives a similar pinion 82 on the shaft 69. To this shaft is secured a holder 83 carrying the pawl 70. I

On the shaft. 69 is a crank pin 85, ccnnected, by means vof a link 86, with a lever 87 pivoted on the shaft 88 of the sprocket wheel 71, This lever 87 carries a pawl 89 which engages a ratchetv wheel 90 on the shaft 88. As before described, the shaft 69 is constantly oscillated from the leverBI .by means of pinicns 81 and '82; and by; means of the link 486,.,lever S7 and pawl v89,;thc

ratchet Wlieel A90 is turned and the sprocket chain advanced.

At the s ame` time .the machine is shifted from rotation to oscillation. it becomes necessary, as hereinbefore described, to throw ont of action the rear bank of needles, which, as. stated, is eiiected by moving down the halfring m engaging the tails of the needle levers y corresponding to said needles, whereby said needles are swung outward and out of operative engagement with the knitting cams. The haltring m is secured to a cross-bar 9:2 carried by an upright rod 65 93. The rod 93 is carried by one end of a lever 94, which is. bifurcated between its ends and pivoted, at its bifurcatcd portion. on the machine frame. `T he other forked end of lever 94 embraces a stud 95, being confined between a head fixed on the tcp of the stud anda sleeve 97 loose on the stud, said sleeve forming the end of an arm 96 on thelower end of the post. 60. Oil-the lower end of the stud 1s a head 98, between which and the sleeve 97 is confined a coil spring 99.

When the post 60' is raised, as it is in .shifting lfrom rotation to oscillation, theA and rendering the rear bank of needles again operative.

As soon as the machine is .shifted from 'rotation to oscillation and the rear-'bank of needles is .thrown out vof action, it becomes necessary to oscillate the ring 7* which, as`

before described, actuates the fashioning 9 rack-plates o through the medium of the arms s and the double pawls p. The means -or oscillating the ring 1 is not shown, as it has no necessary relation to the invention herein claimed.

I havenow described the means for changing from rotation to oscillation and for simultaneously rendering operative. the means for shifting the rear bank of needles out of action. As before stated, this occurs at the beginning of the knitting of the heel and at the beginning of the knitting of the toe. During the knitting of the heel and toe it is desirable to decrease the 'tension' on the thread soas to permit of the insertion of an extra reinforcingthread, 'as hereinbefore described. lVlien said extra thread is introduced and said shift, from rotation to reciprocation occurs, certain mechanism, which l will now proceed to describe. operates to lift the needle cylinder and the sinker head resting thereon; thereby, as is well undei stood in the art, decreasing the tension on ,the thread.

cured. Further, by lifting gear 112 out of engagement with the screws, any one of them can be independently turned a distance of one or vmore pinion teeth. This is of '5 special advantage in case the needle cylinder should not be absolutely level, as it can be leveled perfectly by independently adjusting one or more of the screws.

The gear 112 is turned at the proper time automatically by means of the following mechanism (see also Figs.' 3 and 8). Secured to the gear 112 is a bracket 1111 to which is pivoted a rod 115 slidable in a bearing in the standard 120, on the up'per bed plate b. Secured to the rod 115 is an adjustable piece 116 carrying a screw 118 whose axis is parallelto the axis of t-he rod 115. The upper end of one arm of a threearmed lever 121 extends back of the screw 118. Another arm of the lever 121 is in line of travel of a cam 122 on the shaft 77'. As before described the cam shaft 77 is given a preliminary turn in order to give a preliminary turn to the ratchet wheel 68 to bring it into operative relation with the pawl 70. During the time that the ratchet wheel 68 and cam shaft 77 are being turned to shift from rotation to oscillation as before described, the cam 122 underrides the lever 121 and causes it to engage and push the screw 118 and rod 115, thereby turning the-gear 112 and lifting the needle cylinder. The extent to which the needle Acylinder will lift may be governed by adjusting the piece 116 on the rod v115, or more conveniently and accurately, by turning the screw 118.

The extent to which the needle cylinder may be depressed'is governed by a screw 220 vagainst which an abutment 221, secured tothe gear 112, is adapted to strike on the return movement of the gear 112. The screw 220 is adjustable in a bracket 222 secured to the spider o. A spring pressed det-ent 223 engages the grooved head of the screw and holds the screw in its adjusted position.

So long as the pawl 70 is in operative relation with the ratchet wheel 68, the ratchet wheel will turn a distance of one tooth at each four rotations of the driving shaft. As

continued rotation of the ratchet Wheel 68,I

will dictate the shifting from oscillation to rotation it is necessary to provide mechanism to hold theratchet wheel 68 stationary until the heel or toe is completed and it is desired to return to circular knitting. llhis mechanism is not, however, directly related to the invention herein claimed, and is not therefore herein shown and described,`bnt reference is made to my said application Serial No. .697,861 for a full disclosure of mechanism performing this function. may be stated, however, that this mechanism is controlled by the fashioning rack plates o and is arranged to withdraw the pawl from action when it has turned the ratchet wheel 68 two more teeth, that the pawl 70 remains in its inoperative positionv throughout the knitting of the heel and of the toe, and that when the heel or toe is come 'pleted, the fashioning rack plates o permit the cam cylinder z' and sinker cap jto rotate.

In the next place, the depression of post-60 rocks the lever 94, causing it to raise the rbd 93, bar 92 and half-ring m, thus again re'ndering operative the rear bank of needles. In the next place, the cam 122 rides from-L under the lever 121, thereby allowing the rod 115 to be returned to its original position by means of the spring 123, thereby turning the gear 112 and screws 110 needle cylinder.

r1`he above described series of operations occurs after the knitting of both the heel and toe.V ln the knitting of ladies hose after the completion of the toe, the machine at once proceeds to knit the leg, rst `knitting the garter top, in which a reinforcing thread is used, then knitting a certain length of fabric below the garter top of maximunr width, but without the reinforcing thread, then gradually decreasing the diameter' of the fabric, and then knitting the ankle or lower and narrower portion of the leg. In my said application Serial No. 697,861, mechanism for effecting .this operation, without stoppage of the machine, is described and illustrated, but this mechanism would be inoperative in the knitting of halfhose, and it is not therefore herein shown or described.

1n knitting half-hose, after the toe is completed, a number of roundandround courses are knit. The machine is then stopped, preparatory to certain operations, well known in the art, to which 1 shall refer hereinafter.

'toVY lower the I will first describe the means for automatically stopping the machine. (See Figs. 1 and 7.)

@n the drivingshaft t are the fixed driv- -ing pulley A'LOand the loose idle pulley Lt1.

A spring 14 tends to more -the thelotrse pulley 41. By means of a hand lever 45 engaging a collar 4G on the shaft 43, the shaft a3 and .belt-'shifter 42 may be the levell being held in contact with the cani ratchet wheel 163.

movedv into position to bringthe belt into engagement With-the driving pulley 40, the shaft-43 being retained in this position by means of a latch 48 (on the collar 46) dropping back of a lug 49=on a bell-crank lever 5 0. lVhen the lever 50 ismoved into position to-cause the lug 49 to recede from the latch t8, the spring 44 moves the belt-shifter 4:2 into position to shift the belt from the driving pulley 40 to the loose pulley 41, thereby stopping the machine.

The actuation of the lever 50 is effected by means of a lever 160 (see Fig. 7) which isfinturn actuated by a Icam-wheel 161. This cam-wheel is on a shaft 162, which also canries the ratchet wheel 163. On the main driving shaft t is a spurgear 166, meshingA with a spur gear 167 (see Fig. 6). A link 168 connects a crank pin on gear 167 with the outer end ofthe arm 165 at which point' is carried a pavvl 170. The arm 165 is loosely pivoted on shaft 162. The paivl 170 engages'the teeth of the ratchet Wheel 163. These teeth extend all the way arohnd the :periphery of the Wheel 163 except for a lank'space somewhat shorter in length than the space occupied by three teeth. Mechanism isprov'ided (as hereinafter described) whereby after the knitting Iofthetoe is com;- leted, the ratchet wheel 163 is turned to ring the first tooth of the wheel into operative relation with the paWl. Thereafter the ratchet "wheel 163 will be turned a distance ofone tooth at each revolution of the driving shaft.- Affter the ratchet Wheel 163 is turned any predetermined number of teeth, the cam wheel 1'61 actuates the lever 160, which in turn 'rocks the lever 50, thereby ermitting the spring 44 to lnove the beltL shiiier 42to shift the belt from the driving pulley to the loose pulley. If'there are-any additional teeth on the ratchet Wheel` 163, the latter, after the machine .is re-started, continuesto'turnuntil the paxvl 170 has actuated the last tooth, when it proceeds' to play idly. on the untoothed portion ofy the periphery of the Wheel.

The ratchet wheel 163 is subsequently turned to'bring the pavvl 170 again into operative relation with the ratchet wheel by the following means: On the. shaft 77 is a caml wheel 171. pivoted on the machine frame, one arm of face ofthe wheel 171 b v a spring 173 and the other arm of` the lever being connected to the upper end of a link 17-1. the lower end of this link having a piu and slot connection with the intermediate part of a lever 175. This lever pivcted at one end on the machine frame and at the other end has a` projection in line of travel of a lug 176' on the pawl 177 adapted to engage the ratchet wheel 163. A spring'l, extending between A bell-crank lever 172 is- ()n the limi 174 is a fixed y 4projections on the lever 175 and link 174,

maintains the pawl 177 in engagement with T-he ratchet Wheel 163 is thus turned by the so pavvl 177 but not a sullicient distance to bring the pawl'l70into operative relation with the, first tooth of the ratchet wheel.

During the knitting of the foot and toe the 'parts described remain in inoperative position, but on the shift from oscillation 'to rotation at thc beginning of circular knitting, the cam wheel 171 again acts upon the lever 172 and link 174 as before described, and at this time the ratchet Wheel 163 is ad vanced -a sufficient distance to bring the Apawl 170 into operative relation with the ratchet wheel 163, whereupon the operation of the latter proceeds as before described untilthe machine is stopped.

Afterthe machine is stopped, tlIe-,yarn is broken by hand and the stocking is pressedl oit 'the needles by tu1ning`tl1emacbne about two revolutions. It is then necessary to move down the half ring 1n' to movefthe rear bank of needles out of action preparatory to leveling all the needles for the transferring operation. I have provided the following means for then moving down the halfring my,

On theishaft- 162 ofthe ratchet wheel 163 is a cam 180 (see Figs. 2 and On the lever 94 .is a lug 181 carrying an adjusting screw in line of travel of the cam 1'80. fter the stocking is pressed odf'the needles as beforestatedathe machine' is turned by'hand until the ratchet wheel 163 is advanced into sach position that the cam 180 willunder'ride the screw on luv 181. thereby liftingtthe corresponding en ofthe lever 94' against theaction of spring 99, ulling down `the other end of `tl1e lever and,v thereby, through rod 93 and bar 92, pulling down the half-'ring m, and moving the rear bank of needles outof operative relation with the cams on the cylinder yi. The machine is then gi rena partial tnrnL to bring the. cams of the camg cylinder opposite the needles ,that have lthusfbeen moved outl of action; thereby levelnig aillfthe needles, as before mentioned.' Th'e transferring operation then proceeds, this .c peration, however. having nothing to do with my present invention. 'fter tlie t sferrmg operation, the machine is again, tnrnedto l bring the cams into operative ielaftio'n with action of the spring 99, of the cain 180, sha'ft 162 and ratchet 163,-being kicked forward. Further turning of the shaft 162 causes the c cam 180 to engage an arm'lS/it on a shaft 185.

This shaft carries another arm 186 (see Fig. 3), which extends between two collars 18T, on a rod 188, the latter beinP; attached to one arm of the three. armed lever 121` The rocking of the shaft 185 by means of the cam l180 causes the arm 186 to strike the lower collar on the rod 188, thereby swinging the lever 121 against the screw 118, pushing forward the rod 115, turning the gear 112f and 'screws 110 and-thereby lifting .the needle cylinder to its maximum height, The needle cylinder remains i'nits elevated position during the knitting of only one course, as the cam 180 immediately reccdes from the arm 184. Thus a'single loose course is knitat the ton of the leg.

-While in the foregoing description l have .spoken of lthe cam cylinder as rotatable and 'of the needle cylinder as vertically adjustable, in accordance with' the embodiment ot the invention shown in the drawings, 1 do not intend to restrict the application ot my invention to this particular type of machine to the exclusion of any Well known equiva lent arrangement, as that in which the needle cylinder is rotatable, andthe cam cylinder vertically adjustable.

Having now fully described my invention, .what I claim and desire to protect by Letters vPatent is:

1; In a circular knitting mach/ine, the combination with the cam cylinder and needle cylinder, of driving connections to one of the cylinders, rotary mechanism and oscillatory mechanism, control mechanism, shifting .means governed by the control mechanism to connect the driving connections alternately with the rotary mechanism and oscillatory mechanism, paWl and ratchet mechanism. means actuated by the control mechanism to place the payvl and ratchet mechanism into operative relation With the driving shaft, means actuated bythe driving shaft to operate the rotary mechanism and oscillatory mechanism, the control mechanism and the paivl and ratchet mechanism, mechanism to stop therotation of the driving shaft, and means controlledby the1 paivl and ratchet mechanism to operate the stop mechanism.

2.1m a circular knitting machine, the

combination with the cam cylinder and4 needle cylinder, of driving connections to one of the cylinders, rotary mechanism and oscillatory mechanism, control mechanism, shitting means governed by the control mechanism to connect the driving connections alternately with the rotary mechanism and oscillatory mechanism, paivl and ratchet mechanism, means actuated .by the control mechanism to place the pawl and ratchet mechanism into operative relation with the driving shaft, means actuated by the driving shaft to operate the rotary mechanism and oscillatory mechanism, the control mechanismand the paivl and ratchet mechanism, mechanism to stop the rotation of the driving shaft, means controlled by the pavvl and ratchet mechanism to operate the stop mechanism, mechanism to move certain needles out of operative relation with the cam cylinder, and means actuated by the paivl and ratchet mechanism to operate said needle actuating mechanism.

3. in a circular .knitting machine, the combination With the cam cylinder and needle cylinder, of driving connections to one of the cylinders, rotary mechanism and sofi' oscillatory mechanism, control mechanism,

shitting means governed by the cont-rol mechanism to connect the driving connections alternatelyivith the rotary mechanism and oscillatory mechanism, pawl and ratchet mechanism, `means actuated 4by the control mechanism to place the payvl and ratchet mechanism into operative relation With the driving shaft, means actuated by the driving shaft to operate the rotary mechanism and oscillatory mechanism, the control mechanism and the payvl and ratchet mechanism,y

mechanism to stop the rotation of the driving shaft, mechanism actuated by the shittmeans to :move` 'certain needles out vof operative relation with the cam cylinder,

l and means'actuated by the payvl and ratchet' mechanism to operate the needle ,actuating mechanism independently, whereby the payvl and ratchet mechanism may be oper- 'ated from the driving shaft., aftera given shift from oscillation to rotation, to effect.

the automatic stoppage of the machine after a predetermined number of courses of circular knitting and permit the leveling of the needles.

ln a circular knitting machine, the combination with the cam cylinder and needle cylinder, or" driving connections to4 one of the cylinders, control mechanism, ro-

mechanism and oscillatory mechanism, shift-ing means governed by the control mechanism to connect the .driving connect tio-ns alternately With the rotary mechanism and oscillatory mechanism, a ratchet having a number or" teeth, a paWl adapted t`o actitate the ratchet when the latter is turned into a certain position, a driving shaft, means actuated thereby to operate the rotary and los oscillatory mechanism, the control mechanism and the paiwl, means actuated bythe control mechanism to turn the ratchet into operative relaticn'with the pawl, mecha-i'v nism to stop the rotation of the driving shaft, means controlled-by the ratchet wheel to operate the stop mechanism, mechanism actuated by the shifting means to move certain needles cut of operative relation with the cam cylinder, and means turning with the ratchet to operate the last named mechanism independently, whereby the ratchet may be brought .into operative relation with the pawl after-a given shift from oscillation to rotation, the machine automatically stopped after a predetermined number of courses of circular knitting, and the needles then automatically leveled.

5. In a circular knitting machine, the combination with the cam cylinder and the needle cylinder, of driving connections'to one of the cylinders, rotary mechanism and oscillatoryv mechanism, control mechanism. shifting means governed by the control mechanism to connect the driving connections alternately:withl the rotary ,mechanism and oscillatory mechanism, an arm carried by the shifting means, a -stud movable in said arm,- a lever connected with the stud, a spring between the stud and the arm, meansA connected with and operated by the lever to move certain needles out of operative relation with the cam cylinder, a driving shaft, means actuated by the driving shaft to operate the rotary mechanism and oscillatory mechanism and the control mechanism, mechanism independent -of the shifting means to4 operate the lever, connections between the driving shaft and the last named mechanism adapted to operate the lever, and means actuated b v the Vcontrol mechanism to render said connections operative.

6. In a circular knitting machine, the

combination with the cam cylinder and the' needle cylinder, of'drivinggconnections to one icl the cylinders, rotary `mechanism and oscillatiry mechanism, controlv mechanism, shiftingrf] means governed by the control -mcchanislm to connect the driving connections alternately with the rotary mechanism and oscillatory mechanism, an arm carried `by the sl'pi'ftinglg means. a stud movable in said arm, a liever connected with the stud, a spring between lthe studand the arm, means connected wiith-` and operated by the lever to move certainl needles ont of operative relation with the cani cylinder,adriv'ing shaft, pa wl and rachet mechanism, means actuated by the control mechanism Ato place the pawl and ratchet mechanism into operative relation nith the drivingtfshaft, means actuated by the ydriving shaft .to operate the rotary mechanism and oscillatory mechanism. the control mechanism and the pawl and ratchet mechanism, mechanism to stop the rotation of the driving shaft, means -controlled bythe pawl and ratchet mechanism; to operate the stop mechanism, and menus controlled by the pawl and ratchet mechar msmv to operate said lever. 7b

7. In a circular knitting machine, the combination with the cam cylinder and needle cylinder` of driving connections to one of the cylinders, rotary mechanism and scillatory mechanism, control mechanism, shifting means governed by the control mechanism to connect the driving connections alternately with the rotary mechanism and oscillatory mechanism, an arm 'carried by the shifting means, a stud movable in said arm, a lever connected with the stud, a spring between the stud and the arm, means con-1 nected with and operated by the lever tomove certain' needles-out of operative rela-'- tion with the cam cylinder, a ratchet having a number of teeth, a pawl adapted to actuate vthe ratchet after the latter has been. turned into a given position, a driving shaft, means actuated thereby to operate the rotary mechanism and oscillatory mechanism, 93 the control mechanism and the pawl` means actuated by the control mechanism toturn the ratchet into operative relation with the pawl, mechanism to stop the rotation of the driving shaft,. means controlled `by the 95 ratchet wheel to operate the stop mechanism, a cam, turning with the ratchet wheel, adapted to lift said lever, a lug turning with the ratchet and a stop carried by said ratchet-actuating means adapted to be engaged by said lug and preventing forward movement of the ratchet after the cam recedes from the lever.

8. In a circular knitting machine, thecom-mi bination with the cam cylinder and needle cylinder, of driving connections to one of the cylinders, control mechanism, rotary mechanism and oscillatory mechanism, shift.- ing means governed by the control mechanism to connect the driving connections al- 11o.

ternately 'with the rotary mechanism and oscillatory mechanism, a. ratchet having a number of teeth, a pawl adapted to actuate the ratchet when the latter is turned into. a certain position, a driving shaft, means actu- Vated 'thereby to operate ,the rotary and oscillatory mechanism, the control mechanism and the pawl, means actuated by the control 'mechanism to turn the ratchet into operative relation with thep'awl. mechanism to stopv 120 the rotation of the driving shaft,a lever normally locking the stop mechanismrom operation, a cam on the ratchet shaft, and a lever operable by Said cam and adapted to operate the first lever to cause it to unlock the stop. mechanism.

y 9. In` a circular knitting machine, th

combination with the cam cylinder and needle cylinder, of driving connections to one of the cylinders, control mechanism, rotary lso mechanism and oscillatory mechanism, shifting' means governed by the control 'mechanism to connect the driving connections alternately with the rotary mechanism and oscillatory mechanism, a ratchet having a number of teeth, a pawl adapted to actuate the ratchet when the latter is turned into a certain position, a driving shaft, means actuated thereby to operate the rotary and oscillatory mechanism, the control mechanism and the pand, a cam actuated by the control mechanism, a lever operable by said cam, a link operable by said lever, a paWl o-n the link adapted to engage said ratchet and turn the same after a predetermined rotation of vthe control shaft into operative relation 'with the lirst-named pavvl, mechanism to stop the rotation of the .driving shaft, and means controlled by the ratchet Wheel to operate the stop mechanism.

10. In a circular knitting machine, the combination with the cam cylinder and needle cylinder, of mechanism for moving one of said cylinders vertically, control mechanism, thc driving shaft,mea!`1s actuated by the driving shaft to drive the' control mechanism, pattern mechanism, means controlled by the pattern mechanism to control the operation of the control mechanism, a cam turning with the control mechanism adapted to operate -said cylinder-lifting mechanism, driving connections to the other cylinder, rotary mechanism and oscillatory mechanism, means governed by the control mechanism to connect the driving connections alternately With the rotary mechanism and the oscillatory mechanism, a driving shaft, mechanism to stop the rotation of the driving shaft, means controlled by the control mechanism to effect the operation of the stop mechanism, mechanism actuated by the driving shaft to actuate thef last named means, and devices'actuatcd by the last named means to operate the cylinder lifting mechanism.

In testimony of Which invent-iornl have hereunto set my hand, at Phila., on this 25th v a. Hoosier/ian.

P. R. ROHM, WM. P. BRooirnRMANmJr. 

